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Thursday, 9 August 2018

As we are profiling some of the amazing members of our small congregation, this time we are casting the spotlight on Peter Smooi.

Peter Smooi is one of the characters of Hogsback. He is recognisable
in the community with a smile on his face, standing on the pavement selling
mushrooms or walking sticks or walking with his dog by his side and his guitar
slung across his shoulder. He is a man
of peace and of Africa and identifies with Rastafarianism. He is a deep-thinker and has interesting
viewpoints.

Peter’s heritage is truly in the Amathole mountains where
his family has lived for many generations. He was born at Daneswold in 1964.
His parents lived in Hogsback, although his father came from the Kat valley.
Peter has inherited characteristics from his Khoi grandfather who worked on a
farm nearby. Although he grew up in Hogsback, he went to school in Alice up to
Std 3 and then he worked in gardens and factories in many places including travelling
to Cape Town to work in a factory. He has two children: Yoliswa born in 1984
and Anelisa born in 1990.

Since
Peter’s daughters have left him, he lives on his own. A typical day in the life
of Peter is to get up in the morning, have a cup of tea or coffee, and then
walk into the forest to search for mushrooms in the summer, particularly under
pine, oak and wattle trees. He will collect them and carry them to the village
to sell them. The most popular mushrooms are the Bolitha and pine ring
mushrooms. He also looks for suitable black wattle stems to make walking sticks
to sell to visitors. The inscribed walking sticks have become a trade mark of
the pavement sellers who congregate on the pavement opposite the hardware store
and the shop. Many hotels buy them in bulk to sell as souvenirs. The other
special trademark of the pavement sellers is the making and selling of clay
cattle, hogs, horses and the chapel which they make from the local clay.It is in this way that income is derived to
buy pap and bread. One can imagine that there must be some days of no sales and
therefore no food. And yet, even though Peter has so little, he will share what
he has with Gas.

Jikani, which
opened on 25 January 2014, has played a, invaluable role in many ways including
supplying clothes to those who cannot afford expensive clothes. On Sundays Peter
and Gas make the longer walk to St Patrick’s where they are regular members of
the congregation.

Even though
Peter does not have many material goods, what he has he shares with his dog, Gas.
Peter is an example of how one can live on little. His life makes one feel humble as it shows
that material goods that are so sought after by society are not the essential
priorities. In many ways these St Patrick’s profiles make one appreciate some
of the great messages of Jesus Christ, to see Christ in others, to be humble in
oneself and to be kind to one’s neighbour, especially if he or she is in need.

In
admiration to all those at Hogsback who walk tall even with so little!